Deriba Merga of Ethiopia has overcome the disappointment of his Olympic fade to win the Boston Marathon with Salina Kosgei of Kenya winning the women's race .
Merga wilted in the Beijing heat and was overtaken near the end to finish fourth.
But he pulled away before Boston's infamous Heartbreak Hill and won in two hours eight minutes 42 seconds - almost a minute ahead of Daniel Rono of Kenya and Ryan Hall of the United States.
Kosgei won a sprint with defending champion Dire Tune, trading the lead several times in the final blocks of Boylston Street before hitting the tape less than a stride ahead of the Ethiopian in 2:32:16.
The winners take home $270,000
